by John McMullin and Leigh Randolph
The Western World places great value on intellect and thinking over the ability to open to the intuitive process that often allows for creative problem solving. Einstein acknowledged that when he said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
Many holistic practitioners consider intuition the sixth sense given to all humans as a birthright.
Intuition is not about believing, it is about knowing, while our ego sensory system trusts the tangible. The great challenge for the human ego is how to expand its consciousness to allow and accept the message of intuition with less judgment, fear, or shame. The challenge of embracing the literal experience of the mind versus the knowing of our intuition is a common internal conflict. Thinking appears as ceaseless chatter from ego parts that are busy defending, proving, and justifying. On occasion we have the opportunity to still and silence our ego chatter and allow insights from intuition to appear in our dreams, fantasies, and abbreviated moments of a new reality. The great challenge of the human ego is to hold the experience without analyzing, judging, or creating rationalization based on past experiences.
So how do we teach our ego parts to accept this stream of insights that our ego distorts with its own values? The first step starts with the awareness that the ego blocks the message because of its own agenda. We try to pour the infinite message of the Cosmos through a tiny little funnel and then choose to believe in that very restricted version. Then we attempt to justify the ego’s version and express this through the limited capacity of language and thought. Through this awareness we begin to understand the great challenge for mortals to process immortal messages without attempting to contain them with our judgments and attachments.
To reduce the corrupted experience from our ego’s projection we start with compassion for the ego’s need to deny, deflect, or change. We learn to become curious about our own projections and reactions and how we have created stories based on our history. This curiosity allows us to develop compassion for the difficult challenge to expand into another consciousness. We begin to realize how much we have distorted not only the message of our own intuition but also the messages of others. Perhaps an important aspect of this process is the realization that our capacity for knowing has been compromised from our experiences of fear and shame. We must have compassion and forgiveness for our mortal efforts.
Some folks would offer that trusting intuition is learning how to think outside the box. The interesting aspect of this notion is that we can think ourselves out of the box when in fact thinking puts us back into the box. So what if we could teach ourselves the consciousness of thinking with our heart and feeling with our mind? Have you experienced thinking about your feelings and feeling about your thinking? Have you learned how to ask yourself and others how they feel about experiences instead of what they think about them? Can we use our body sensations as a reality check? For example, I might ask where you feel a memory in your body and is this sensation something you have experienced before? Have you learned to trust your body sensations and feelings versus the emotions you attach to your thoughts? Have you noticed how thinking can trick you and take you away from your feelings, a misdirection to justify old beliefs?
As we become aware of how we process by projecting old values on to new experiences, then we can invite curiosity to help us become conscious outside of the box of our old ego values. In addition to these tools of connecting with the inner self how do we ask Higher Self to remind us we are, and always have been, on the right course? This connection is the gift of intuition that reminds us we are part of something greater than lower self. It reminds us that our true north is the journey of intuition and the sacred contract of our incarnation.
When do you recall a message passing through you that created urgent action? Perhaps while washing dishes you become aware of the urge to contact a family member only to discover they were involved in some kind of crisis. Maybe you had the experience of knowing there was something wrong with a pet or a child without any evidence. You may have even had a knowing and chose to ignore it, only to discover later that you were connected to something that was happening. Most of us have encountered moments of déjà vu without any rational explanation for them. Our intuitive connection works equally well during the night. Journaling our dreams can bring insights and prophetic information. These kinds of experiences teach us to become more sensitive and accepting to a connection of an invisible intelligence that can guide us on the journey.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
John A. McMullin Sr is the founder of Journeys of Wisdom, Inner Achievement Methods and Director of Holistic Coaching Institute. He sees clients and teaches nationally and internationally. He also publishes SelfGrowthWisdom.com. John can be reached at (614) 975-5433.
Leigh Randolph is retired from a career in dentistry and has been fascinated by the world beyond the five senses for decades. That has led her to working with clients and their dreams through Holistic Integrative Dreamwork, as well as scanning the biofield for stress patterns. She is available both locally and globally. You can reach Leigh at (614) 581-8703.